I am so glad that I have the priveledge of being part of an art so great!!!! The challange, the tradition, and the comraderie are amazing. I train in Tae Kwon Do and do board breaks. They were really exciting for a while but now, after a few randori matches and countless repititions of 1-5 of ju nana hon, Aikido is the best for me. Love the video by the way!
Aikido always!

It’s great that people are getting enthusiastic about aikido, but I think we really should cut down on those claims that one martial art is the best: as Huo Yuanjia once said (or so I’m led to believe), no style is superior, the practitioners might have different levels. On a much more humble scale, my sensei tells me all the time that “everything is connected” (in martial arts). Anyway, inspirational video!

Me neither. I just tend to point that out (maybe a little eagerly) since my shihan is concerned with the philosophy and the tradition of Aikido.
Otherwise you tend to learn it “wrong”. Of course we can’t use it that way yet, but it still should at least be our mental state.

He was a direct disciple of Kobayashi-sensei.
That is probably where it comes from.

Well then I guess we simply have different impressions of the art. Maybe even due to a difference in style/teacher.

The intent of an Aikidoka should not be self defense/to defend himself. If you know the teachings you should be well aware of that.
The intent should at all times be Ai. The means are Ki. That should be his Do.
That is the difference to Aikijutsu.

Of course that applies to those who have “mastered” the art. (Even though it is an endless Do.)

Basis of self defense is to get into the position of an opponent. In the philosophy of Aikido you never step into that position. You never give input and you never “take” anything, no interaction.
You simply control the situation by being above it.

Maybe you want to do some more research on that. Ueshiba describes that very beautifully in some of his books.

it is for self defense. it’s actually used to defend yourself while causing the opponent as little harm as possible. as opposed to other martial arts which can cripple opponents. aikido can injure your foes as well, but in theory you shouldn’t look to harm anyone. peace.

Well you should have some streetfights with different people to understand how it works there. Noone waits until he punches or stand in a perfect position. The only thing that mostly works is a punch in the face or in the stomach.